NBA Jam: East Roster

Detroit Pistons

Players: Richard Hamilton, Rodney Stuckey, Charlie Villanueva and Ben Gordon

Legends: Isiah Thomas and Bill Laimbeer

The same principle used with the Cavs applies here: Detroit's legend duo of Zeke and Laimbeer, same as the original arcade twosome in 1993, will undoubtedly appeal to Pistons fans more than the current crew … although I'm somewhat stunned that there are four current Pistons instead of three and that Ben Wallace isn't one of them.

(As mentioned before in another post, No Ben Wallace is an extreme disappointment but I think Isiah and Bill making a comeback kind of turns me on...sorry.)

Atlanta Hawks

Players: Joe Johnson, Josh Smith and Mike Bibby

Legends: Dominique Wilkins and Spud Webb

I voted for Jamal Crawford over Mike Bibby in my March exercise, but it's hard to quibble too much when the Hawks have such a tasty lineup. Smith was born to be in this game, and the presence of Nique and Spud as legends gives Atlanta three irresistibly explosive options for a game of two-on-two.


Boston Celtics

Players: Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen

Legends: Larry Bird and Kevin McHale

You think Doc Rivers has problems in real life with all the big names (and egos) the Celtics have stockpiled? Try choosing only two Celts at a time from this six-pack. Boston's roster is one of the nine that include four current players instead of three because fan voting was so tight. Combine that with the fact that Bird was never in the arcade versions of Jam, and you can understand why the game's designers didn't try to wedge Shaquille O'Neal on this roster, too. (Although we have to believe that Shaq, in a nod to his l-o-n-g history with Jam, is among the hidden characters who can be unlocked.)

Miami Heat

Players: Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh

Legends: Glen Rice and Rony Seikaly

Back in March, when EA invited fans to vote for the three-man squads they wanted to see in Jam, these were the other Heaters on the ballot besides Wade: Michael Beasley, Jermaine O'Neal, Udonis Haslem, Mario Chalmers and Quentin Richardson. Don't think South Floridians will mind, in other words, that the game's designers took the liberty of choosing LeBron and Bosh for them. (P.S. Rice and Seikaly repped Miami in the first arcade version in '93, which I'm told is indeed the main reason they were selected over, say, Alonzo Mourning and Tim Hardaway in the legends spots. Nostalgia.)

Chicago Bulls

Players: Derrick Rose, Luol Deng, Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer

Legends: Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman

Jordan's status as the face of "NBA 2K11" means he can't appear as a Bulls legend, either, which is going to crush some gamers no matter what the consolation choices are. But I would think the six Bulls you can choose, with Pippen and Rodman included, should soften the blow at least a little. Right?

Orlando Magic

Players: Dwight Howard, Vince Carter and Rashard Lewis

Legends: Nick Anderson and Scott Skiles

Howard can't foul out in this virtual world and doesn't have to shoot free throws. (Neither, for that matter, does "legend" Anderson.) And with gritty, gutty Skiles available, perhaps you can look past the fact that neither of Orlando's other present-day top guards -- Jameer Nelson or J.J. Redick -- made the cut. The Magic, quite simply, are going to be a Jam handful.

New York Knicks

Players: Al Harrington, Danilo Gallinari and Amare Stoudemire

Legends: Patrick Ewing, Larry Johnson and John Starks

Harrington's free-agent defection to Denver, like the aforementioned trade involving Courtney Lee, came too late for Al to be removed from the Knicks' roster on the Wii version and replaced by a lefty we can't resist: Anthony Randolph. The consolation here: New York has three legends -- more than any other team -- along with Amare. And who doesn't want to see Ewing and Orlando pupil Dwight Howard go at it?

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/column...=NBAJam-100907
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Just posted some of the teams that mattered, the rest of the East are in the link.

A few disappointments and mainly my main disappointment is that some of these teams got shafted of their original "Legends" and replaced them with a mascot or something. Something I would of liked to see as far as the "Legends" are concerned would be to see each team get at least 4 or 5 of them from the teams' past (doesn't have to be from NBA Jam's past).

For example: The Bucks are one of those teams that got shafted of their original NBA Jam roster. So instead of replacing them with a mascot they should of got rights for Oscar Robinson, Kareem Abdul Jabar, etc. to list as their "Legends".

And for teams that got their original roster back liked the Pistons, I would of liked to see them get a few more "Legends" that were not in the original game like Joe Dumars, Dennis Rodman (he's on the Bulls roster but it should be Horace Grant not Rodman), Vinny Johnson, Dave Bing, Bob Lanier, etc. Doesn't have to be all those names but a few more Legends would of been nice.